


bold and fearless

by stray_dog_sick



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Gen, Self-Titled Era, josh joining the band, thats it thats the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 01:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11772705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stray_dog_sick/pseuds/stray_dog_sick
Summary: It took Josh three days to learn their first album.





	bold and fearless

**Author's Note:**

> peru story: we had chili con carne the night i wrote this and i went up for seconds it was awesome
> 
> title from 'slowtown' by twenty one pilots

Josh lived for music. It was as simple as that. He just didn’t want to spend his entire life as a fill-in drummer for Christian rock bands.

So when his workmate Chris said “hey Josh, come see the band I drum for,” he wasn’t sure why he agreed. He’d just get roped into learning the drum parts, and then he’d be the first person Chris called in an emergency, and it would be House of Heroes all over again.

He agreed, and he went to the show, and it was great. He wasn’t sure what he expected, of course, but it certainly wasn’t _that_. Josh couldn’t assign a genre to it - what kind of bad has a piano, bass and drums? - and the lead singer was… something else entirely.

He didn’t look like much, but the kid - he must be younger than Josh, he had to be - was rapping and screaming, throwing himself around the stage. It was incredible to watch.

What sealed the deal for him was actually a cover of sorts; a rap over an opera song that he vaguely recognised. It worked better than he ever would’ve thought, and the lyrics were beautiful. Just on the right side of ‘too dark’. They made Josh think that maybe this kid would understand what was going on in his head.

He found Chris after the show, got him to introduce the rest of the band. The singer’s name was Tyler, and even though he was taller than Josh, he still seemed tiny.

Intelligent, though, as Josh quickly learnt. They spoke for so long that the venue kicked them out, and talked longer at the apartment Tyler shared with Chris.

They had so much in common that Josh was amazed they’d never met before. Same taste in music, a shared love for Taco Bell and Red Bull, common goals. When Tyler suggested they get together again soon, Josh knew he’d keep his promise.

Tyler gave him a copy of their self-titled CD on his way out. It took him three days to learn the drum parts.

\-----

The text didn’t come from Chris; it was from Tyler himself.

_Chris left. I need a drummer, got the kit. How soon can you get to the uni campus?_

Josh quit his job. He travelled in his old car at speeds that were way above legal. They only played two songs before their show got shut down, but that was enough.

Music was Josh’s life, and he wanted to live it playing with Tyler.

\-----

As a whole, he was glad he’d made that decision. Sometimes, though, he regretted quitting his job, especially when he saw the ‘tour bus’ Tyler and Chris had spoken about so much.

“Well, this is where I live,” Tyler said, gesturing at a tiny, beaten-up van and trailer.

At first, Josh thought he was joking. The vehicle didn’t look like one guy could sleep in it, let alone four.

“We don’t actually live in there,” Tyler said. “We’ve never left Ohio. We crash on people’s floors if we have to.”

“You’ve never played a show outside of Ohio?” Josh asked in disbelief. The music was incredible; there had to be people outside of their home state who knew it.

Tyler shrugged. “We don’t attract big audiences. Play all you want, you’ve still got to get people’s attention.”

“We’ve gotta do something bizarre. Like, I dunno, wear weird masks.” Josh suggested.

Tyler smiled. “Joshua Dun, you and I are going to get along very well.”


End file.
